Hamster Taming Diary

[suga]

Having just read Jayne's post about Max's behaviour and her feelings about taming the little fella and still feeling the same way and experiencing similiar behaviour in LilBear I thought I would start this thread.

I'm still scared :cry: :( - LilBear will allow me to stroke her back and will take a treat from me. She will climb in and out of her basket but hasn't done any hand action yet. So today I am going to start intensive training as suggested by Souffle in Jayne's thread and I will update progress here on a daily basis.

Jayne - we could both post here - might encourage us to keep trying and get some feedback from the rest of the guys about how thiings are going?????

So in our household today is cage cleaning day and I'm going to start then....... updates to follow :wink:

[Spuds Mum]

Hope it goes well Suga! I'm sure it will
I think this is a great idea, I will keep an eye on how you are getting on!

[Holly]

Good luck - you can do it. You are probably more nervous than Lil Bear who will likely take to it like a duck to water!

[souffle]

This is a great idea and we will be your mentors Suga and Jayne. OK cage cleaning day....you have to get lil Bear out for that so when you have her in the ball I want you to get on the bed and let her climb on to your lap then pic her up for 5 seconds using the computer mouse technique. Repeat this 5 times.....

[Gust0o]

You are probably more nervous than Lil Bear

Exactly!

Just remember - no fear!

[Catja]

I have had both pets@home baby hams and adult unhandled hams and managed to tame them - dwarfs are another story though!

Anyway I am afraid there is no getting away from the fact that really taming involves intensive handling and running the risk of getting bitten

I have always found it a nerve wracking experience and hate feeling like I'm stressing the hamster which in turn means the hamster keeps on feeling nervous.

Jayne - Max is very like Algy in every way they even look similar, Algy came from pets@home, I thought he seemed brave and would tame up quickly, infact he was nervous, jumpy and bitey, he never came out of his house but would take treats in the end this is what I did.

I had a high sided box next to the cage, took him out of the cage by ushering him into a cup/ball, and then into the playbox, then I would pick him up for approx 30 seconds and then down again, I would repeat this often for about 10 minutes and then return him to the cage via the cup/ball.

I would keep on doing these 10 minute sessions for a couple of days, then when I picked him up I held him over the play box in case he jumped and ran him hand to hand for a few seconds each time.

With Algy it took 3 weeks, we got to a stage where he would run hand to hand but be nipping,but after repeated handling for these brief spells he stopped and now he is and always will be jumpy but very gentle and easy to handle

With Bonaparte again it was in - pick up - put down, in pick up, down, I would scoop him up giving him no choice and then back down.

When I spoke to the expert at the show he said the best way is to blitz and I agree. Bonaparte was tame within 5 days but it all definitely takes courage - possibly of the dutch kind for those of us old enough! And of course plenty of plasters and antiseptic!

Anyway as we have a new petshop ham from today I am going to have to back my words with action, so if it is okay I will join in the taming diary from time to time.

Of course as Basia and Basil will testify there is always the exception to every rule!

[Gust0o]

When I spoke to the expert at the show he said the best way is to blitz and I agree.

That was exactly what I did with Harry, who came to me with a history of biting and being anti-social - and it's paid dividends.

I suppose another thing to remember, if you're nervous, is that they are robust little animals - Al is very anxious with them at first, and I often think that complicates things more than it needs.

An example - when she was trying to pick Bob up at first, she would scoop about with her hand. Sometimes Bob would half comes, sometimes not at all; sometimes it was simply chasing Bob with the hand. And then Al would give up!

To what benefit? A stressed little hamster? If you're going to pick-up, then stick with it - make sure you get him up, for all your efforts.

I'm not sure how to phrase it tactfully - I suppose, don't pussyfoot about?

They do bite - they will bite; but you've got some good advice here. So don't focus on the bites. That's not the objective - focus on the taming

[suga]

Welcome to the taming thread Catja :-)

Night1
:cry: Well this was a great idea :roll:

She comes out into her basket - gotta love the basket for manouvering hamsters around the home - piece of cake :-).
I decided to use a huge storage box to do the handling over so if she wriggles away she's not going anywhere and she'll always be somewhere safe. Transfer to the box nice and easy. Its the whole hand thing that's freaking me out. She let me stroke her but picking her up was not an easy thing. I'm a total chicken so i put my winter gloves on - she ran over them and i have elevated her up for about 2 seconds before she jumps away. I have done that several times and she has now gone back into her house and is sleeping in the corner again.

I don't need just dutch courage I need a miracle.... and or therapy. This is going to be a long journey I think.

[suga]

By the way - i know gloves - not a solution.... :-(

[Catja]

But you've made a start, agree about the gloves as she needs to know your smell, but it is scary, we are programmed not to go near things we know might hurt us.

I think the case is to persevere, what about putting your hand in and letting her run over it when it is on the ground.

Another really good tip given me is to place your fist into the box, in other words put your hand in put have your fingers curled into a fist as this allows the hamster to get used to your smell without being able to bite, this maybe a good way to start and build both you and her confidence.

The other thing I always do is rub my hands through the shavings on the cage floor.

Also try some paper towel that you have rubbed on you to transfer the sent and offer it her as part of her bedding.